A poignant and delicate class portrait, The Chambermaid follows Eve — played by the wonderful Gabriela Cartol (I Dream in Another Language) — a young chambermaid working in one of the most luxurious hotels in Mexico City, an exclusive glass tower inhabited by wealthy guests whose lives she imagines by their belongings left behind and their absences. Long, laborious shifts prevent Eve from caring for her child as she helps guests with their own children, but she believes she can better her situation after she’s promoted to work at executive-level suites, for which she accepts a grueling schedule. In keeping with her desire to improve her lot, she simultaneously enrolls in the hotel’s adult education program.

Set entirely in this alienating environment, with extended scenes taking place in the guest rooms, hallways, and cleaning facilities, this minimalist yet sumptuous movie brings to the fore Eve’s hopes, dreams, and desires. As with Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA, set in the same city, The Chambermaid salutes the invisible women caretakers who are the hard-working backbone of society.

“Approaching the subject with a documentary sense of realism, director Lila Avilés keeps a light touch… For much of its running time, The Chambermaid operates as a subtle study of inequality, but what emerges before our eyes is a character study free of pretense… [The film] offers a sometimes funny and playful look into the inner life of Eve; nuanced and natural, it has a quiet and modest power as it comments on the ironies of contemporary cities like Mexico City and their growing economic divide.”

Playing as part of their film series, IF YOU CAN SCREEN IT THERE: PREMIERING CONTEMPORARY LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA.

“In a snowy and industrial city in the south of Argentina, Paula, a 23-year-old girl from Buenos Aires, starts an intense job hunt with the sole purpose of saving money. The lack of a job, a home and a stable emotional environment will end up turning that search into a personal and introspective journey. She will have to deal with the hard living conditions in the south as well as with the unsolved aspects of her life, which will gradually be revealed. She knows she is shouting, but she can’t hear herself. Resembling a combination of Carey Mulligan, Sandra Huller, and Michelle Williams, Brito—next to be seen prominently in a feature-length documentary by American avant-garde legend James Benning—keeps Paula flintily sympathetic throughout. She etches a subtle and believable portrait of an astute person experienced far beyond her tender years, and considerably tougher than her gamine looks suggest.”